Former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell appears to be making progress in his NFL comeback attempt ... at least from a weight-loss standpoint.

Ben Volin of The Palm Beach Post reported Friday that Russell now is less than 300 pounds as he tries to get to 265 before his April pro day. Russell weighed 308 pounds when he began training with Jeff Garcia and the TEST Football Academy in San Diego on Feb. 7.

Russell has allowed his comeback attempt to be documented by Bleacher Report. He recently ran the 40-yard dash for the first time in five years, posting a time of 5.2 seconds. Russell's trainers have set a goal at 4.8, close to the time of 4.83 seconds that Russell ran before the Raiders took him with the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

We'll continue to give you periodic updates on Russell's journey. It's not often that a No. 1 overall pick can become a Rocky Balboa-level underdog over the course of five years. Consider our curiosity piqued.